Mall janitors turn change into charitable treasure

WINDSOR, ON, Canada — Members of the janitorial team at the Devonshire Mall are often seen collecting change from hallways and pay telephones, but they are not doing so for personal gain, according to the Windsor Star.

Sometime in the next week or so, the team of eight will hand over its year''s savings to two charities: A $400 check to the Windsor Homes Coalition Inc. and a $350 check to the Salvation Army kettle drive, the story stated.

According to the story, this is the sixth or seventh year the crew has donated its findings to charity and roughly $600 of the donations came from dropped coins in the mall, with the remaining $150 donated by the mall''s administration from rental carts and sales of shopping bags.

The janitors collect an average of $1.50 per day from various change "hot spots" throughout the mall, mostly in pennies, the story noted.

Devonshire Mall Janitor Heather Lapierre said: "It''s a great feeling to help other people in need. It''s hard right now for a lot of people. Times are tough and it''s a good feeling [being able to help]."

Though some mall patrons may think the janitors are collecting the change for themselves, the charitable janitors say they do not care what onlookers think because they know they are doing a good deed, the story added.